FEMA: 122K apply for storm aid; $170M approved

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency says 122,000 people have registered for disaster assistance for Superstorm Sandy damage in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and $170.4 million in aid has been approved so far.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said Saturday that businesses are being encouraged to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the Small Business Administration to help them reopen quickly.

Charley Shimanski of the Red Cross said the agency is mobilizing its entire fleet of emergency response vehicles from across the country as well as its entire volunteer workforce, including support from Mexico and Canada.

Shimanski said more than 4,200 volunteers were already working in the storm-ravaged metropolitan region and thousands more were being mobilized.